


You Are Dangerous

by g0nes0uth



Category: House M.D.
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/F, Femslash, female - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:35:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26607604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/g0nes0uth/pseuds/g0nes0uth
Summary: Cameron overhears a conversation that triggers her interest towards Thirteen.
Relationships: Allison Cameron/Remy "Thirteen" Hadley
Comments: 5
Kudos: 29





	1. Gravity

"I heard she dated Dr. Foreman for a while, but it didn't get so serious."

"Wait, so she's bisexual? That works to her advantage though, she can attract both men and women."

Cameron stood a few meters behind the two nurses who were chatting. She knew exactly who they were talking about, but tried to keep her focus on the patient chart she had on hand. None of what they were saying was new to her. Of course she'd heard about the mysterious young doctor working for House – that she's elusive, bisexual, and very attractive. The last one she knew before anything else, having seen her during House's elimination rounds for new fellows several years back. She looked up quickly and realized the two nurses were still talking, sorting patient files as they went.

"Overheard Dr. House say she frequents lesbian bars recently, so it looks like she's more into women these days," one of the nurses said. Cameron shook her head absentmindedly, and wondered how much of their personal lives were known to the rest of the people in the hospital because of House.

The other nurse stopped what she was doing, looked around tentatively, and started talking again in a slightly lowered voice. "Hey Cat, do you know where any of these bars are, by any chance?"

Cat widened her eyes at the other woman. "Oh my god?! Robin, are you interested in Dr. Hadley?"

Robin raised an eyebrow at Cat and flashed a sly smile. "Not like I'm going to seek her out or anything. I mean, as far as I know I'm straight, but if she ever makes a move I'm not even going to think twice!"

"You cheeky bitch!" Cat replied, playfully hitting Robin with a patient file. "You're right though, she does have this appeal that can get you to switch teams."

Cameron felt like she was intruding, listening to the nurses' conversation without their knowledge like that. But then again, they weren't exactly being subtle. She finished her chart and approached the desk where the two nurses were.

"Hey ladies!" she greeted. She made sure to speak before she was close so they wouldn't think she heard their previous conversation. "This is the last one from me for now," she said, handing Robin the file. "I'll just take a break. Page if you need me."

Robin took the file and smiled at the doctor. "Sure thing, Dr. Cameron." She and Cat watched Cameron as she walked away.

"You think Dr. Cameron would be able to resist Dr. Hadley if she makes a move on her?" Cat asked, almost whispering this time.

Robin was still watching Cameron, who was by then barely visible to them. "If there's anyone who can, maybe it's her. But god, what a hot couple they'd make."

* * *

Cameron opened the door into the doctors' lounge, hoping that there won't be a lot of people inside. She didn't really have anything in mind by going there, mostly just trying to find someplace to spend the time. There were a couple of doctors chatting near the kitchen, so naturally Cameron headed to the couch on the other side of the room. She picked a spot for herself and grabbed a magazine from a nearby table.

It'd been almost a year since she and Chase finalized their divorce. The entire process was grueling and at times overwhelming, but she was happy to have gone through with it. Chase expressed reluctance throughout, but he also knew there was no way to save their marriage at that point. She left the hospital shortly after and spent time with her family. After a while, she heard (quite unwillingly, no thanks to Wilson's compulsive tendency to update her on what's going on with House's team whenever they talked) that Chase had left PPTH as well and moved back to Australia. It was around that time that Cuddy contacted her to ask if she was open to the idea of taking the position of ER head again.

Cameron had finished reading the magazine when she noticed the two doctors talking earlier now heading out of the lounge. "Maybe we can go out to get some lunch," one of the two doctors said to the other as they walked past her. It was then that Cameron remembered she hadn't eaten since that morning, and decided to head to the cafeteria to get some food herself.

She thought about going out to a restaurant, but figured that she'd check first how crowded the cafeteria was and decide from there. She'd been avoiding busy places in the hospital since she had gotten back. It wasn't because she didn't like the people - it was more that the looks she'd always see them give her made her feel uneasy. People still associated her presence with Chase's, and it always felt like they were looking at her like the ripped half of a perfect picture.

When she got to the cafeteria she saw that it wasn't full, but there was a line at the counter. She contemplated for a bit, trying to decide where to go. She was already leaning towards going out when her eyes led her to the people in line to order their food. It took her a while to be sure, but her initial assumption was correct. It was Dr. Hadley standing at the end of the line.

Seeing Thirteen reminded her of the conversation she overheard earlier that day. She wondered how the doctor would react if she knew that Nurse Robin was open to going out with her. And Nurse Cat. And whoever else in the hospital who was attracted to her. But she also had a feeling that the Dr. Hadley was, to some degree, aware of her own gravity. She had to be, right?

Curious, Cameron grabbed a tray from nearby and walked to the line, towards Dr. Hadley.


	2. Unfiltered

Thirteen scanned her food options, hoping to find something appetizing for lunch. She skipped breakfast that morning in exchange for getting to work on time and not having another nonsense discussion with House. He didn't really give a damn about her being late, he was just curious about why. He'd always grill her about her activities the night before, and on whether or not it involved picking up women from bars. It wasn't always the reason she's late. It usually was, but not always.

The past twelve months have felt like going through a hurricane for her, with so many things happening. After she and Foreman broke up, she traveled to Thailand in an attempt to reset everything in her life. Unfortunately, when she got back to "real life", she soon discovered that she had to keep her promise to her brother far earlier than she expected. Instead of a reset, it felt like her life had unraveled instead.

Making sure her brother didn't get to reach the same state their mother did because of Huntington's was something she was prepared to deal with for the rest of her life. But she wasn't able to anticipate what came after: she felt more alone than ever, and so afraid that no one would do for her what she did for her brother. So when House fetched her from prison that day and told her that he'd be the one to do her the same kindness she did her brother, going back to the hospital to work with him became an easy choice to make.

For a time she worried she was regressing, only going back to how things were before, and maybe defeating the purpose of trying to reset her life. She soon learned though that so much had changed since she was gone. Cuddy had a daughter, Chase was gone, Cameron was gone too, for a while, but she came back. She also heard House replaced her spot on the team, but that didn't last long. Everything sort of looked the same on the surface, but nothing really was, underneath. She herself for sure has changed.

"Don't worry, it's only lunch," Cameron said softly, standing behind her, to her surprise.

"Dr. Cameron, I didn't see you there," Thirteen replied, turning to face the other woman. She hadn't seen Cameron this up close in a while, only usually seeing her coming and going around the ER. It was like seeing her for the first time again.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Cameron continued, now with a worried look on her face. "You just looked so serious while standing there. Tough case?"

The line moved so Thirteen stepped closer to the counter, but remained facing Cameron. "Yeah, sort of. We're waiting if the patient will react positively to a treatment I suggested, so I'm kind of on the edge."

Cameron remembered the feeling all too well. "The stress from that never goes away, does it?" Out of instinct, she touched Thirteen's arm and caressed it a bit. "I hope your patient gets better".

The contact surprised Thirteen but she tried not to show it. Based on what she knew about Cameron, this was something to expect of the ER head. But she was too used to women touching her like that with a more flirtatious pretext, so her brain took a while to distinguish the difference. "Thank you", she answered, hoping that Cameron didn't notice her arm tensing up a bit.

Both women stood in line silently for a while. Cameron didn't want to prod Thirteen any further about their case, knowing fully well how nerve-wracking those moments can be. She started to think of whether she missed doing that kind of work where the process of solving the case was more drawn out, instead of everything being fast-paced like in the ER.

"How is life in the ER?" Thirteen asked, seemingly reading Cameron's mind. She turned towards Cameron again while also pointing at a tuna sandwich to the lunch lady. "Any crazy cases recently?"

Cameron grabbed a salad and placed it on her tray. "We get one every now and then. The other day there was a kid who ate a bunch of legos. I think he thought they were candy."

"Oh man, anything colorful is edible when you're a kid" Thirteen chuckled, handing a bill to the cashier. "I'm paying for hers too, then keep the change" she continued, pointing at Cameron.

"You shouldn't have but thank you!" Cameron exclaimed, surprised at Thirteen's action. This was the longest they've ever interacted despite working in the same hospital for years, and there Thirteen was, buying her lunch. Maybe they should've started talking sooner.

"It's fine," Thirteen answered walking towards a nearby table. "Would you like to sit together? I probably won't stay long though, will need to check how the patient is doing soon."

"Sure, of course" Cameron responded, taking the seat across Thirteen. "Had I known you're the type to buy colleagues their lunch I would've talked to you sooner." She instantly felt a pang of worry as the words came out of her mouth. The thought felt unfiltered, and she hoped the younger woman wouldn't take it the wrong way.

Thirteen unwrapped her sandwich then leaned forward a bit closer to the blonde. "You should've! But don't tell anyone, I'm trying to maintain my asshole persona." She winked after she said it.

Cameron chuckled, her worries from moments ago washing away. "Asshole persona? Is House rubbing off on you?"

"Oh, he wishes he did!"

Both women's lighthearted laughter was cut short by the sound of Thirteen's beeper going off. They both knew what that meant.

"Looks like I need to have this sandwich to go, our patient is waking up" Thirteen said, rising up from her seat while looking at her beeper. She paused for a few seconds looking at someplace distant, and then at the woman across her. "Proper lunch next time?"

"Yeah, and thanks for this one, Dr. Hadley!" Cameron answered as the younger doctor started jogging away from their table.

Thirteen mentally scolded herself while in the elevator, on her way to their patient. _Proper lunch next time? What the hell was that?_ She had to admit, the short encounter overexcited her a little, which might have led to the impulsive offer. It was a strange feeling to socialize with someone while sober and not in a club. Most of her other interactions were with people in the hospital – usually related to patient problems, and with either House, Foreman, or Taub. Compared to those conversations, a short chat with Cameron felt like a breath of fresh air. Strangely exhilarating.

 _Hm, on second thought, maybe I'll follow through with that proper lunch thing_ , she thought before entering the patient's room.

* * *

The following week, Cameron found herself in the cafeteria again, but alone this time. She had finished her food several minutes prior, but she didn't feel like getting up just yet. She dreaded the paperwork that was probably piling up in her office right in that moment.

Before becoming ER head, she didn't know that the job involved more paperwork than actually treating patients. All ER cases that were endorsed to specialists for further treatments required her approval, and while most times the approvals were done verbally due to lack of time, the paperwork never failed to make their way to her desk. She couldn't even begin to imagine the amount of paperwork that goes through Cuddy's desk.

She was whisked away from her thoughts by a tray sliding across the table in front of her, followed by a person taking a seat. "Mind if I join you?" Wilson asked, taking the cover off his salad bowl.

Cameron smiled, knowing that Wilson wasn't really waiting for an answer. She watched him mix his salad very carefully, trying to avoid spilling any of it. She suddenly remembered how he was when he lost Amber, and how it seemed like he wouldn't get through it. He'd been through a lot, she thought. They all have.

Wilson looked up at her and furrowed his eyebrows, "You're awfully quiet. Are you ok?"

Cameron smiled again. "Yeah, sorry, I'm just not looking forward to the mountains of paperwork I'll go back to in a bit."

"Hm, ER backlogs can be cruel," Wilson mumbled while also chewing some of his food. "Did a lot of cases get endorsed this week?"

The blond moved the contents of her tray a bit, trying to not let her mind drift too close to the specifics of her work. At least not yet. "Yeah, most cases weren't really incident-related, just known health issues that people didn't get checked when they should've."

"Endorse anything to House's team?" Wilson asked again, his eyes set on his lettuce.

Cameron got curious at the direction Wilson's questioning was going. "I don't think so," she answered. She tried to recall if she did, scanning for a memory of her briefing one of House's doctors about a potential case. It was usually Foreman or Taub, and she couldn't remember seeing either of them in her office that week. "Why'd you ask?"

"Oh, nothing. Just heard they haven't had a case since last week." Wilson answered, by now almost done with his food. He was obviously hungry. "Part of me wishes they get one soon. You know how antsy he gets when idle."

She knew he was right. A lot of House's childish antics start during times when they don't have a case. It's like he couldn't help but find trouble or a conflict to play with. She thought about the times when she was among those who suffered through those antics.

Her mind wandered further to House's current team, and her encounter with Thirteen the week before. She'd never been the one to fetch a case from the ER department before, probably part of the reason why they never got to interact much through the years. _That's kind of strange, isn't it?_

Cameron made a mental note to be on the lookout for a case to endorse to the Diagnostics this week.


	3. Good Shot

A couple of days after, the Diagnostics team still had no case to deal with. House and Thirteen were playing pool in the doctors' lounge, while Taub sat on the couch staring at his phone. Foreman decided to be a consultant on a clinical trial and asked to just be called in when a new case comes.

"See that's just dumb. Are you letting me win?" House quipped, watching the balls move after Thirteen took her turn. Thirteen smirked at House, not speaking a word. Playing pool with him always felt like a poker game, for some reason. "Don't take it easy on me now, hotshot. I can take it," he continued.

Thirteen walked slowly around the table, thinking of her next move. Had she known they'd be playing pool today, she would've worn more comfortable pants. Now she can't bend over without knowing that both House and Taub will be checking out her ass. "It gets boring when you win all the time," she finally responded, leaning forward to take a shot.

House chuckled. "Say that when you end up doing all my clinic hours for the next two weeks." He used the pool cue as his cane to walk near the couch Taub was sitting on. He picked up his coat jacket and checked the pockets for his Vicodin.

"So how are you?" He started again, his tone changing a little. "Doing some dating? Or going straight to doing?"

Thirteen moved to the other side of the table, trying to anticipate House's next shot. She actually thought he was pretty good at the game, although a lot of his moves were those already taught to her by her dad when they played as she was growing up. She watched him take a shot she had already anticipated.

"Mostly doing," she replied, trying not to move so quickly to take a shot and show how excited she was about her next move. She had him on the ropes. "Haven't gone out in a while now, though".

Despite trying to hide it, House read through Thirteen's excitement and knew that their game was close to its end. He set his pool cue against the wall and leaned against the nearest couch. "I'm surprised. Womanizing wearing you down?"

"No," she answered, taking her position for her next shot. "The crowd at the club is getting too familiar."

House shook his head exaggeratedly, as if bewildered. "You mean you've done every chick in town?"

"No again," Thirteen answered quickly, not even looking at him. She was too focused making sure she doesn't make any mistake with her last several shots. Clinic hours were at stake, and she was looking forward to working less the following week. "It's not exactly a big dating pool."

House smirked, at this point already losing interest in their game. He always liked hearing about Thirteen's bisexual dating conundrums. "Like that has ever stopped you. Aren't you the one assigned to get the new recruits? The gateway lesbian?"

Thirteen rolled her eyes. "I'm not a lesbian." She was two shots away from beating House and they both knew it. She anticipated that House will be doing whatever he can to distract her.

"Half-lesbian, whatever," House answered, throwing his Vicodin bottle into the air. He caught it mid-air and then gave Thirteen a gleeful look. "Maybe you can expand your dating pool here!"

Thirteen was about to take a shot when he said it, but thought twice about it. She straightened herself and walked a couple of steps towards House. "I already tried that, remember? It didn't work so well."

"That's because you didn't do it right!" He answered, catching his Vicodin bottle again. "Would you sleep with… Cuddy?"

Thirteen's face furrowed "What? She's my boss!"

"Who cares! It's a game!" House followed. Thirteen was beside him now. She pouted and looked at the ceiling, as if in thought. "Maybe."

"How about… Wilson?" House asked again. She shook her head almost immediately. "I like Wilson, but probably no. Not really my type"

"Wilson's going to be so sad," House chuckled, sliding over to grab his jacket. "Or maybe not. You didn't even think about it which means you've thought about it before. That'll be enough for him. How about…"

Taub noticed House looking at him and raised his eyebrow. "Please leave me out of this." He stood up, phone still in hand, and walked away from them. House watched him step out of the lounge before facing Thirteen again as he put on his jacket.

Thirteen had already walked back near the pool table, getting ready to get the 9 ball into the pocket, but was also waiting for House to continue. She wanted for his distractions to end so she can finish their game and finally start planning what to do with the free time she was going to have next week. If they didn't have a case, that is.

"How about… Nurse Brenda?"

Thirteen laughed internally at the two of them, having what was like a math drill, but with dating options. "Sure, why not."

"Tattooed guy from radiology?"

"Maybe sleep with. Once. But definitely not date."

House pouted, seemingly satisfied with Thirteen's answers so far. He watched Thirteen slowly lean over to take a shot.

"How about Cameron?"

Thirteen inhaled sharply before hitting the cue ball. It was a perfect shot, as both of them expected. Somehow Thirteen already expected House to say something ridiculous to make her miss, but she didn't expect it to be that.

"Why'd you pause?" House said again. He opened his Vicodin bottle, shook out a tablet, and put it in his mouth, his eyes set on Thirteen the entire time.

"I didn't pause, I was finishing the game," Thirteen answered, putting back the pool cue on its rack. Her mind was suddenly racing, trying to think of how to respond. She knew that any answer would get a reaction out of him, and she wanted to go for the safest route. She walked towards her boss and gave him a satisfied smile "You were trying to distract me but you failed. I win, so, clinic hours for two weeks."

"But you also haven't answered the question, so who's really distracting who?" House quipped, smirking at the younger doctor.

"I'd consider it," Thirteen finally answered, hoping her boss wouldn't make a big fuss.

He didn't seem to, though. He was already reaching out for his cane, angling to leave. "Maybe I'll beat Taub tomorrow and make him do our clinic hours"

* * *

Taub was in the differential room by the time House and Thirteen made it back. He was sitting down, his eyes set on a folder. The two other doctors entered, the same thing on their mind.

"Do we have a case?" Thirteen asked.

"Oh, no" Taub answered, closing the folder. "These are just some files my accountant sent over. I'm sorry."

Thirteen sighed, slightly disappointed. She pulled the table across Taub and took a seat, while House walked towards his office. She watched him for a while, as he took off his jacket again and threw it haphazardly on his desk. He was probably getting bored out of his mind, she thought. He grabbed his cane and walked out, going towards the direction of Wilson's office.

The room stayed silent for a while, with Taub resuming to looking at his folder and Thirteen scrolling through her phone. After a while, their beepers went off, and both doctors checked to see what the page was for.

"Potential case from the ER," Taub read, deadpanned. He put his beeper back in his pocket and closed the folder in front of him.

"I can go," Thirteen blurted out. "I… can… pick up the case files from the ER." She took a quick glance at House's office. It was still empty.

Taub raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You sure?"

"Yeah, you've got that folder thing going on and I'm bored anyways." Thirteen stood up proceeded to walk to the door.

Taub was surprised but also relieved. It was usually him tasked to get the case files from wherever. "Sometimes you can get the files from the triage area, but usually you get it from-"

"Cameron's office. I know" Thirteen interrupted, closing the door to the diagnostics room.


	4. Improper

Cameron signed the document on her desk before closing the folder it was in and putting it on top of her "done" pile. A feeling of satisfaction washed over her. She was officially caught up on her paper work. It was tedious and not as satisfying as actually treating patients, but it was all part of doing good, she believed. She was about to pick up her files to take it to the administration office when she heard a knock on her door.

"Yeah?"

The door opened slightly and Thirteen's face appeared, a tentative smile on her face. "Hi!"

The sight made Cameron's heart jump. She suddenly felt excited and a bit nervous at the same time. Trying to stay calm, Cameron returned the smile, let go of her files, and sat back down. "Hey! Come on in!"

Thirteen entered the room and closed the door. "I heard you have case for us." She slowly walked closer to Cameron's desk and watched ER head sort the folders on her desk.

"Yeah, I have it here somewhere…"

Cameron felt Thirteen watching her and suddenly felt a bit self-conscious. She had been stuck in her office doing paperwork for hours and was probably looking a bit exhausted. She took a quick glance at the younger doctor before going back to looking for the case file she needed. "I'm sorry about the mess, I was just finishing up my backlogs."

Thirteen smiled again took a seat on the chair in front of Cameron's desk. "Don't apologize, you're fine. We've been waiting for a case for days. I can wait several minutes."

"… Unless the patient can't," Thirteen continued, suddenly realizing they might be dealing with an urgent case. "Can he?" Her eyes met Cameron's, and thankfully the expression on the blonde doctor's face showed otherwise.

"Don't worry, the patient is currently stable," Cameron assured her. She scanned her entire desk, still unable to find the case file. It was then that she had a flashback of her internal struggle earlier: She was supposed to take the file to the triage area and have House's team get it from there but decided not to. She was strangely excited about the idea of having a case for House's team. She expected Taub to be the one to get it but also found herself hoping it wouldn't be him. _What is this?_

"I wasn't expecting you," Cameron finally said, shaking herself out of her own thoughts and sliding her chair closer to a side cabinet, now remembering where she placed the case file. "It's usually Taub who fetches the files from around here," she continued, sliding back to her desk, the folder now in her hands.

"We've had so much downtime that Taub is at the point of doing his taxes now," Thirteen joked, now starting to feel a bit self-conscious as well. She hoped it didn't seem like she went out of her way to see Cameron. _But did she?_

"I remember doing my taxes in between cases, too, in my day" Cameron answered, handing over the folder to the younger doctor. "Patient is already admitted, was brought in due to a seizure, and is currently seeing blue."

Thirteen slowly took the folder from Cameron. "Blue?"

"Yeah. Blue," Cameron repeated, meeting Thirteen's perplexed look with a slight smile. "I had his eyes checked but we didn't find anything. Could be neurological?"

"Yeah, or a nerve issue," Thirteen glanced at the charts for a second then faced Cameron again. Part of her wanted to stay a little bit longer, but it didn't seem like the appropriate time to stop and chat.

"This looks like a good case. Thanks for turning it over to us, Cameron."

Their eyes met again, and Cameron realized that this was the first time she was able to really look at the younger doctor's face. She found herself having to get out of her own thoughts again.

"Of course. I hope things go well."

They held their gaze for a few seconds. Finally, Thirteen raised an eyebrow and flashed Cameron a playful smirk before standing up from her chair. "Well, time to take a crack at it" she said. She turned to Cameron as she was by the door, the playful smirk still on her face. "See you around, Cameron."

Cameron let out a huge sigh as the door closed. _What is this?_

She had a good idea what it was, but didn't want to give it any more thought. Thinking about it will make it worse. Thinking about it will give it meaning. It was a rush she'd felt before, but haven't for quite a while.

Her mind raced, flipping through scenarios, excuses, and escape routes. Maybe it's nothing, and she was just looking too much into it. Maybe Thirteen is just being friendly. Maybe she's just excited by the idea of having Thirteen as new friend. _Yeah, that had to be it._

* * *

The days that followed flew by quickly, to Cameron's relief. She managed to avoid seeing Thirteen despite her mind constantly switching between being thrilled by the thought of interacting with the woman and convincing herself that there's nothing to be excited about.

And despite the ER not being busy of late, she felt mentally exhausted. She frequently caught herself watching out for Thirteen everywhere – in the ER, cafeteria, or even the parking lot – and every time those thoughts came up she tried her best to block them out. She decided that taking a later shift the following week will do her good – maybe knowing that Thirteen wasn't in the building all the time will help her keep the brunette out of her mind.

"Want to get some pizza nearby? You might not have a lot of dinner options when your shift ends," Wilson offered Cameron as they stood outside the clinic, his coat and bag already in tow. It was evening and he was about to leave, meanwhile Cameron still had a couple of hours before her shift ended. She raised the paper cup she was holding and shook it lightly in front of him. "Will pass. I already had tea and a sandwich in the cafeteria a while ago."

Wilson nodded lightly. "Good for you," he said, looking at the direction of the hospital exit, probably thinking of where to eat. "ER gets kind of quiet at night, huh?"

"Yeah. It's a good break," Cameron answered. She figured she'll probably hang out in the lounge when Wilson leaves and spend the rest of her shift there. She watched Wilson who was still staring out the exit, looking undecided. "Maybe House wants some pizza," he murmured before walking away from her. "Bye, Cameron."

The doctors' lounge was empty and Cameron had bolstered herself comfortably on the couch with a medicine journal in hand, ready to spend the last hour of her shift in peace. Mondays usually bogged her down, although maybe it was less about the day itself and more about the thought of possibly having to going through a heavy week. The best approach to the ER life was to always be ready for heavy weeks, and at this point she knew well how to do that. She also knew well enough to enjoy the light moments, as infrequently as they come.

She was just starting to get engrossed with the article she was reading when she heard someone enter the room. She looked up and saw Thirteen walking towards the kitchen area, holding what looked like a magazine or journal. Cameron immediately set down the journal she was holding and fixed herself a bit. _You've got to be kidding me_

Thirteen walked over to her, a mug of water on one hand and a medicine journal on the other. "Mind if I join you?"

Cameron smiled at Thirteen and glanced at the couch next to her. "No, not at all."

"What are you doing here so late?" Thirteen asked. She took off her lab coat before taking a seat, and Cameron couldn't help but notice how the wine-colored button-down she was wearing looked good on her.

"On mid-shift this week. How about you?" Cameron answered, pretending to focus on what she was reading but also glancing at the younger woman every once in a while.

Thirteen had started to scan through her own journal, although she didn't seem to be reading anything in particular. She took a quick look at Cameron and caught the woman looking at her, but she turned away when their eyes met. "We just solved the case you gave us," Thirteen finally responded, setting her eyes back at the journal.

"That's great," Cameron answered, trying to not look or sound embarrassed. "Will Mr. Hayes be ok?"

"If he continues getting better the next hour or so, he can be discharged tomorrow," Thirteen answered. She set her foot on the center table in front of the both of them and continued flipping through the journal pages.

"Is that why you're here?" Cameron asked again. She was staring at the article she was so focused on earlier but couldn't get herself back into it. The fact that Thirteen was there was still ridiculous to her.

"Yeah. House probably assigned me to piss me off because he'll be doing my clinic hours this week but it's fine, it's not like I have somewhere to be," Thirteen answered. She reached the last page of the journal she was flipping through so she set it on the table.

Cameron watched her just sitting there, her mind growing riled up by the second. _Fuck it_ , she thought.

"Would you like to have proper lunch tomorrow?" she blurted out.

Thirteen turned towards Cameron, obviously surprised. She suddenly remembered the offer she made the older doctor a couple of weeks before. "Of course," she answered, her expression slowly turning into a smile. "That'd be great."

"I won't be coming here until around noon tomorrow, so I'm ok with having lunch someplace... not here," Cameron continued.

"Actually, I was planning to go to the mall in the morning to buy some stuff. Maybe we can meet there at around 11?" Thirteen responded. She paused, realizing how very casual her suggestion sounded. "I mean, I'd offer to pick you up but you might not be interested in tagging along while I shop for some towels."

Cameron let out a light chuckle. "Would it be weird if I am?"

Thirteen's eyes slightly widened. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Cameron answered. "I like shopping for home stuff."

Cameron gave her number and address to Thirteen and got the younger doctor's number in return. While saving Thirteen's number she noticed the time and realized that her shift had ended half an hour ago. As much as she wanted to stay, she didn't want some last-minute issue in the ER to end up making her stay longer than she needed to. Especially now that she had plans for the following morning.

"Looks like I need to go, some things to sort out before my shift ends," Cameron said, putting her phone inside her scrub pocket. "I'll see you tomorrow at my place around 10?"

"Yes you will," Thirteen responded. She watched Cameron rise from her seat and head out.

"For the record, I was going to ask you out for lunch, you just beat me to it," she continued, stopping the older doctor in her tracks. Cameron turned around to face her. "It's ok," she answered, smiling at Thirteen.

"Don't stay out too late, Dr. Hadley."

When the lounge door closed, Thirteen stared at the spot on the couch that Cameron occupied moments before. _What is this?_


	5. Better

Her drive home felt tense, which was strange considering that they had just solved a case. The patient was fine, she played a big part in getting to the right diagnosis, and House didn't call her an idiot, but they did nothing to ease her mind.

Cameron asked her out to lunch. That was a surprise. The invite sounded friendly, after all, it was just lunch. Lunch is pretty much the friendzone of meals. But considering all of the moments they've had recently, it also felt like a loaded proposition. Was there something else to it, or did Cameron simply feel compelled to pay her back for lunch from weeks back?

"But it was just a salad!" Thirteen said out loud while she sat in her car, growing impatient as she waited for the traffic light to turn green. She felt restless, which irritated her. It was just lunch, with a co-worker she'd seen so many times before. It was just lunch, with a co-worker she actually did invite to a proper meal a while back.

But why did it feel like the stakes were so high?

Her mind took her back to that day at Cameron's office from the week before. She remembered immediately taking that opportunity to fetch the case file from her office. Some part of her wanted to see Cameron again, to talk to her up close and in private. She didn't think of it as anything other than friendly as first, and she chalked it up to feeling at ease when interacting with the older doctor. But what started as friendly comfort quickly turned into a kind of excitement she knew all too well. There'd never been anything platonic about encounters that involved prolonged eye contact.

She found herself quickly growing more aware of how attractive Cameron was and she can't get herself to unsee it. As busy as her week went, she kept catching herself thinking of Cameron, of what she was doing, and how she was. Thirteen imagined the woman going about her day, totally unaware that someone was thinking of her.

Going back to now, Thirteen tried to figure out why she was stressing herself out about how lunch would go. What would lunch going well even be like? What would it mean? Would they become best friends? She rolled her eyes at the mere thought of it.

She also realized she hadn't thought about whether she would act on the attraction she was starting to feel. Was there even a move to make? She figured much of it depended on where Cameron was at, and decided to see how the next day would go. No use figuring out a puzzle with not enough pieces to work with.

* * *

"I forget, why are you buying bath towels again?" Cameron asked as she ran her hand across the stacks of towels, feeling the soft fabric against her fingers. Thirteen stood across her, looking alternately between a stack of dark blue towels and one of dark green. "It's just one of those errands that if I don't get to when right when I remember it, it ends up being forgotten, so…"

"How about this one?" Cameron interrupted, holding up a dark red towel.

Thirteen squinted. It wasn't among her choices, but the fact that Cameron suggested it got her curious.

"I'm sorry, I didn't meant to meddle, please choose whichever you want," Cameron continued. She set down the towel and folded it neatly. "I just thought the color looked nice." It reminded her of the button down shirt Thirteen was wearing the night before. And for some reason, an image of Thirteen coming out of the shower with the towel wrapped around her body appeared in her mind. It felt wildly inappropriate and she immediately blocked out the thought.

Meanwhile, Thirteen walked over to Cameron's side and carefully picked up the same towel the blonde held up earlier. It wasn't exactly the color she planned to buy, but it did look nice. Actually, the first word that came to her mind was sexy, but she went against saying it. It didn't feel appropriate.

"No, you're right," she answered, taking the towel and putting it into the shopping basket she had with her. "It does look nice. I think it fits well with the others I already got," she continued, pointing at the other towels in the basket.

"Are you sure?" Cameron asked, her face looking a bit worried. She followed Thirteen as she started walking towards the direction of the counter. "I wasn't trying to coax you into getting it, you know?"

Thirteen chuckled as she placed the towels on the cashier counter to have them checked out. "Haha! Don't worry about it! At least now we know you have a backup career as a towel salesperson!" Cameron giggled and waited for Thirteen to finish paying for her stuff. "And besides," Thirteen continued as they walked to the parking lot. "I wouldn't have agreed to have you come with me here if hearing your opinion would bother me."

"I mean, yeah, but I did invite myself though," Cameron answered, walking alongside Thirteen. She noticed that Thirteen was carrying three large paper bags and tried to get one to help, but she ended up grabbing the younger woman's instead.

"Oh," Thirteen said, a bit startled. She looked down as Cameron immediately retracted her hand.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to take one of the bags to help you," Cameron explained, almost stammering. She looked up at Thirteen and saw that she was looking at her now, and smiling. "It's ok. Don't worry about it."

Cameron stayed quiet until they got in the car. Thirteen noticed, and thought of how she can make Cameron comfortable again, since she probably felt embarrassed by what happened earlier. "Any preference for lunch?" she started, looking at Cameron from the driver's seat.

Cameron looked back at her with an unsure smile. "I was thinking either Thai or Mediterranean, which one do you like better?"

Thirteen's face brightened up upon hearing the suggestion. "Oh! I know this nice Thai place near my apartment! I haven't gone there in a while. They serve really good Tom Yum soup!"

"Sounds great!" Cameron answered. She loved Tom Yum soup.

Thirteen grinned and started the car. "Hey, did you hear about that fundraising thing at that drinks place this week?"

Cameron furrowed her eyebrows slightly, trying to recall the details. "Yeah, I think I remember. The one for the animal welfare org?"

"Yeah, that one," Thirteen answered.

"Are you going?" Cameron asked back. She hadn't thought about whether she'd go or not, and had been dodging her assistant's requests for confirmation. She wanted to support the cause, of course, but whether or not she wanted to spend a Friday night with co-workers was still up for debate.

"If nothing else comes up, I might," Thirteen answered, her eyes glued to the road. She had actually settled on going especially since she knew it was unlikely anyone else from the team would go. She thought she'd try to see if Cameron was going too, to have something to look forward to, at least. "How about you?"

Cameron opened her mouth to answer, but then paused for a few seconds before speaking. "Probably," she answered.

As they got closer to the restaurant, Thirteen figured it was best to get a certain question out of the way.

"I hope you don't take this the wrong way Cameron, because I'm definitely not complaining but, why did you invite me for lunch today?"

Cameron smiled and turned her heads towards Thirteen, who then was keeping her eyes on the road. "Would you believe me if I say that the reason is that I just thought it would be fun?" She kept her eyes on the brunette, waiting for her to meet her eyes, albeit briefly.

Thirteen glanced at her for a quick second and nodded. "Yeah, I believe it."

* * *

Thirteen entered the diagnostics room that afternoon really glad that it was empty. Wherever House and the rest of the team were, she'd have follow them after she'd settled herself. She was on a kind of high she hadn't felt for a long time.

She took a seat and fished her phone out of her pocket. She searched for Cameron's name and sent her a text: _I hope lunch was as fun as you thought it would be._

The phone buzzed almost immediately after she put it down on the table. She put her hand over it for a few seconds before picking it up and reading the response:

_It was better_


	6. Plus One

Robin was staring at her computer when Cat arrived in time for her shift. She was too focused on what she was reading on her screen to notice that Cat had a shocked look on her face.

"I think they're dating!"

"Mm? Dating who?" Robin asked, preoccupied. She didn't bother to look at Cat and even leaned closer to her screen as she scrolled through what looked like a list. "Don't distract me, I'm trying to check if Dr. You-know-who accepted the email invite for the Friday charity pub thing"

_So much for not seeking her out_ , Cat thought. She got her phone out of her coat, tapped the screen a few times then put it almost right in front of Robin's face. Robin's eyes widened, her attention shifting instantly. "What?!"

Robin took Cat's phone and looked at it again. "When was this?" She zoomed in further into the photo – it was Cameron and Thirteen getting out of Thirteen's car. Both women were smiling.

"Just a while ago, in the parking lot," Cat answered as she took a seat beside Robin. "Didn't Dr. Cameron pass by here already?"

"Yeah she's in her office now, she got here around fifteen minutes ago," Robin responded, still not taking her eyes off the photo. "But they don't even talk! Wait, how can you even tell they're dating? It's just a photo of them literally getting out of a car!"

Cat took her phone and looked at it again herself. "I just feel it. I saw them get out of the car and walk across the lot. Something about their body language."

"Since when have you been an expert on body language?" Robin retorted. She went back to scrolling through the list on her computer screen. "Yep, she confirmed. Dr. Hadley will be there on Friday."

"I don't need to be an expert to see when people have chemistry" Cat answered back. "Have to say, it was surprising though. I've never seen them together much around here. Maybe it's new. Didn't we see Dr. Hadley go into Dr. Cameron's office just last week?"

"Hm yeah she did," Robin agreed, raising an eyebrow. "That was to get a case though. Does that really count?"

Cat pursed her lips. Robin did have a point. Sort of. "Maybe that's when they started talking?"

Robin only shrugged. The women went silent for a bit as Robin continued looking at her computer screen and Cat started checking on some files on her desk.

"Hm, I still don't think they're dating," Robin spoke again, breaking the silence. Cat laughed softly and shook her head. Her friend clearly didn't believe her. It was understandable; she didn't see how Thirteen and Cameron were at the parking lot.

And maybe she was right; they weren't dating. But there was attraction there. There was something about the way Thirteen kept looking at Cameron as they walked. Something about Cameron glancing at her hand that was right beside Thirteen's. They both wanted to get close but were too nervous to. Friends don't act like that, much less colleagues.

"Besides, House fellows tend to be close, right? Didn't Dr. Foreman and Dr. Taub even live in the same apartment a while back?" Robin went on. "It's absurd to go straight to assuming they're dating, don't you think?"

Cat knew she wasn't winning this argument. At least not until Robin sees it for herself. "I guess you're right. Maybe we'll confirm when we see them together that's not here at work. Did Dr. Cameron get back to you if she'll go to the fundraiser?"

Robin's face lit up. "She hasn't! I'll ask her again later."

Several moments later, the women saw Cameron leave her office and approach their area. It was that time of the day when the doctor goes to the ER to check on the cases.

"Hey, ladies," Cameron greeted as she got to their desk. Both Cat and Robin smiled back at the blonde. "Are you ready, Cat?" Cameron asked.

"Yes, of course," Cat answered. She got up from her chair and subtly wiggled her eyebrows at Robin before walking towards Cameron.

Cameron and Cat were already walking towards the direction of the ER when they heard Robin call out. "Dr. Cameron, the organizers for the Friday thing said they need the headcount today. Should I put you on the guest list?"

The blonde doctor paused and turned to her. "Oh, thanks for reminding me. Yes, please."

Cameron and Cat were just approaching the ER area when the former felt her phone vibrate. She wanted the message to be from someone in particular, but didn't want to get her hopes up.

_I hope lunch was as fun as you thought it would be._

Cameron couldn't help but smile. She typed her response and tapped send. When she looked up, Cat was a few steps ahead of her, watching her as she stood in the middle of the ER entrance, smiling while looking at her phone.

"Are you going to tell me about who you're texting with?" Cat asked. She had a feeling that Cameron wouldn't talk about it, but found fun in teasing her anyway. She hadn't seen Cameron be like that for a long time now.

Cameron flashed Cat a sly grin as she returned her phone inside her pocket and walked to catch up. Cat was pretty much the closest to a friend that she had among her team and in the hospital, besides Wilson and Cuddy. She was much younger than Cameron but was smart and mature for her age. They've spoken of their personal lives, and Cat already knows about what happened in her relationship with Chase. With this situation with Thirteen though, it felt too early to speak of.

"It's nothing," Cameron said, fully knowing that Cat probably won't believe her but won't push further anyway. She took a case file from the triage table and handed it to the nurse.

"If you say so," Cat answered, taking the file from Cameron. As Cat walked away, Cameron suddenly remembered that she recently overheard her talking with Robin about Thirteen. She felt relieved she didn't tell Cat about it just yet.

The next day, Thirteen was waiting for the elevator to head to the diagnostics room when she saw Wilson waiting there as well. She initially planned on coming in much later that day since she didn't have to do clinic hours, but heard that they had a potential case. It didn't bother her that much, especially since she knew Cameron was already in the building as well. The thought excited her so much more now.

"How's it going?" Wilson greeted. Thirteen figured he'd just finished his clinic hours. He was one of the few doctors in the hospital diligent about completing them.

"We have a case, I think," Thirteen answered. "Clinic hours?"

The elevator door opened and both doctors stepped in. "Yeah. Are you going to the party on Friday?" Wilson asked again. Thirteen found it funny that everyone kept referring to the same event differently. She'd heard Cuddy call it a work event, House called it his nightmare, and now Wilson pertained to it as a party. "Yeah I might, actually," she replied.

"Are you bringing someone?" Wilson asked again, wiggling his eyebrows at her. He'd been asking her about dating updates every time they talked after he'd seen her one time in a restaurant with a friend. He seemed so genuinely giddy trying to understand how bisexuals date that she didn't have it in her to get annoyed with him asking about it.

"Maybe not. Didn't even know that was an option," Thirteen replied. She figured that it didn't really matter - even if she knew they were allowed plus ones, she wasn't really interested in being there with anyone. Except, of course...

"Have you seen the cute ER nurse? The redhead?" Wilson asked. The elevator door opened and both doctors stepped out. "What do you think?" His eyebrows wiggled again in excitement.

Thirteen paused in thought. She wanted to tell him she had her eyes set on the beautiful blonde ER head, but knew better than to do so. Wilson was great, but once he knows, House will know and she will never hear the end of it. She then realized she knew the redhead he was talking about. "Hm, redhead.. Her name is Robin, right?"

"Yeah I think that's her," Wilson exclaimed. "She's cute huh? Maybe we can ask Cameron to set you two up?"

Thirteen had to stop herself from bursting out in laughter. To Wilson's credit, he was only trying to be supportive and she did find Robin cute. But the idea was too hilarious, considering what was really going on. "I think I'm good, Wilson," she answered, walking away from him and heading to the diagnostics room.

As odd as her conversation with Wilson got, it made Thirteen realize that she and Cameron didn't talk about their dating life when they had lunch the day before. At first she thought it was negligent on her part, but as she recalled how her conversations went, she couldn't feel bad about it. They talked about the pros and cons of working with House, what they did when they left the hospital, and what brought them back. She felt like the more they talked, the more she wanted to know, which was the opposite of how it usually went with the people she'd gone out with the past months.

Did she want a serious relationship with Cameron? She had to admit she wasn't sure yet, but the connection they seemed to be building as different, good different, and she wasn't going to miss enjoying it as it unfolded in exchange for overthinking it.


	7. Something

The next day, Thirteen found herself the only one in the team left at the hospital. House learned that their latest patient used to be a porn star and volunteered to go with Taub and Foreman to check out the patient's home. She was annoyed, but was relieved for the patient - at least she wouldn't have to deal with three obviously very distracted male doctors even if it was just for the day.

It was around eleven in the morning and she remembered that Cameron's last text message was that she'd get some early lunch from the cafeteria because she missed breakfast. She and Cameron had been exchanging text messages almost constantly as of late, mostly sharing about things going on during their days. She had actually been contemplating asking Cameron to have lunch again, or coffee, or maybe even dinner, but their busy schedules always made her rethink it. She figured that Cameron casually mentioning where she'd be during her free time that day had to be a subtle invite, and she was more than happy to take the blonde up on the offer.

She scanned the cafeteria area for the woman as she got in line to buy her food. Cameron was on one of the booths, eating her lunch alone. She smiled at the sight of the older woman and took out her phone from her pocket to send the ER head a text message. _Pink looks good on you_

Cameron smiled and looked around her as she read Thirteen's message. She didn't see her, and instead immediately replied. _Where are you?_

She gushed, knowing that she made Cameron smile by something she'd said. Was the text message too flirtatious? Maybe. But she didn't care. She was arriving at the conclusion that she liked Cameron romantically, and while she wasn't sure yet if Cameron felt the same, or was even open to the idea of being with another woman in general, she decided it would be best to make the most of the relationship they were forming, whatever its nature was. Getting close with Cameron made her feel at comfortable and excited at the same time, and she couldn't think of a better way to spend her time. She placed her phone back in her pocket after sending her response and turned her attention to the cafeteria staff to order her food. _Will be there in a bit._

As she approached the booth Cameron was in, she was surprised to see there was somebody else with her and realized it was Wilson. He was probably in line before her and decided to join Cameron's table. She figured it wasn't so bad if they wouldn't get "alone time" for now.

"Not surprised you didn't join the trip to the porn star's place," he greeted her. "House was very very excited about it."

Thirteen contemplated whether to sit beside Cameron or Wilson and quickly figured that beside Wilson would be the safer choice. "Well, somebody had to stay here with the patient, and riffling through an adult film star's things for non-medical purposes isn't really my thing." She glanced at Cameron as she sat and pointed her eyes briefly at the woman's pink scrubs, recalling the comment she sent in a text earlier. Cameron shook her head slightly in jest and smiled at her.

The three went on with their lunch with Wilson doing most of the talking, sharing stories about his patients. Both women were almost purely reacting to Wilson's stories, stealing glances at each other every once in a while. Thirteen felt that Cameron probably wasn't sharing much because she didn't want Wilson to get a clue that they've been getting close and she agreed. What they had was far too young for a House disruption.

"Hey Cameron, I was telling Thirteen the other day to ask you to set her up with one of the ER nurses during the fundraiser tomorrow," Wilson suddenly started, however. This immediately got both women's attention, which had been dwindling since his last three patient stories. "What was her name again? Robin, was it?" he continued, even looking at Thirteen for confirmation.

Thirteen turned her head towards him in surprise and then at Cameron, and then at Wilson again. She opened her mouth to respond but couldn't find the words. "Wilson, I.." She knew that Cameron was watching her reaction and had to explain herself fast. "I told you I'm not interested, remember?"

"I'm just saying, I think you'd look hot together," Wilson answered before turning towards Cameron "Right?"

Cameron was surprised with Wilson's request for validation that she wasn't able to respond right away as well. "I... guess?"

They were interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing which they quickly realized was coming from Wilson's pocket. He brought out is phone and checked the screen, his eyes furrowed in confusion. "I think I need to take this someplace else," he said. He stood up and motioned for Thirteen to stand up as well to make way for him. "Maybe you can convince her," he told Cameron while sliding off the booth. They heard him answer the call as he was walking away.

Thirteen sat back down and looked down at her plate. She was thinking of how to navigate them away from the awkward path Wilson had set them on. After a few moments passed, she looked up and saw Cameron watching her.

"You could've just told me," Cameron finally spoke. She was smiling, and Thirteen couldn't figure out if she was just teasing or was disappointed but hiding it. She returned the smile and shook her head lightly. "Look, there's nothing to tell. This was all Wilson. I feel like he has an ongoing bet with House on my dating life because they've both been bugging me about it recently. Well, it's either that or they pity me for being the only single member of the team right now."

"Maybe envy you is more like it," Cameron responded, immediately feeling like she slipped. Thirteen felt it too and decided to see where Cameron was going with her comment. She narrowed her eyes at the blonde. "How so?"

Cameron was surprised with how their conversation changed it's direction entirely. A while ago it was Thirteen who was in a seemingly compromised position, having to explain herself because of what Wilson said. And now it was her being asked to explain herself instead. She remembered House mentioning one time how Thirteen reminds him of himself, and today she saw a glimpse of why he was right.

"I mean, it's no secret that you can pretty much be with whoever you want," Cameron answered, hoping it was enough for now. "I bet House and Wilson both wish they can get with the women you've been with."

Thirteen pursed her lips in thought. "Yeah, I feel like Wilson trying to set me up with Robin was more for his sake than mine." She took a small bite of her sandwich. "But dating isn't that simple these days."

"What do you mean?" Cameron asked. "I have a feeling Robin would go out with you if you asked." Of course Cameron didn't just feel this — she knew it, but she figured that telling Thirteen wasn't appropriate or her responsibility. It also conveniently worked to her advantage considering her own feelings towards the brunette. Despite this, she found Thirteen's refusal to even consider going out with Robin particularly interesting. "Or is it because you're already dating someone?"

"No, no I'm not," Thirteen revealed, a bit too eagerly than she would've normally preferred. She found it funny how before, telling the women she'd just slept with that she was dating someone was the default answer. Or how answering the same question directly whenever House or her teammates asked was never the logical option. But this time she felt a certain kind of relief in getting to tell Cameron she was single. She let out a nervous sigh before continuing. "Going casual isn't all that appealing to me now. And don't get me wrong, Robin seems great, you know? But right now I'm sensing that something else, something special is right around the corner, and I'd rather focus on that."

Cameron couldn't help but blush a little, especially since Thirteen kept her eyes on her the entire time she was talking. _Was she talking about us?_

Thirteen averted her eyes for a quick while. She felt vulnerable revealing herself like that, but also really glad to be able to give even some hint of clue of how she felt. She turned back towards Cameron, smiled at her weakly and sighed again. "How about you, Cameron? Seeing anyone?"

Cameron was sure that Thirteen knew she was single too. If she had been dating anyone, House would've blabbered it to his team and maybe even the entire hospital the moment he found out. But she liked that Thirteen still asked, perhaps because she wanted Thirteen to hear directly from her that she was available.

"No, I'm not seeing anyone" Cameron answered, also looking straight into the other woman's eyes. "I mean, there's this thing, but I'm still trying to figure it out," she continued.

"I understand," Thirteen replied. "There's no rush."

They sat silently while looking at each other for a while until they heard Cameron's beeper going off. "Sorry, looks like I need to go back now," she muttered, slowly starting to collect her utensils on her food tray. _Timing is a such a dick sometimes._

"Uh, the guys won't be going to the fundraiser event tomorrow, would you like for us to hang out then?" Thirteen asked as she watched Cameron clean up. "I mean, I'd like it if we can hang out." Cameron felt a hint of nervousness in the brunette, which she found a tad bit sweet. It was a rare display of vulnerability, considering her usual confident demeanor.

"Of course," Cameron responded. She stood up, handed her tray to a nearby cafeteria staff, and then turned to Thirteen again with a smile on her face, "Frankly, I was planning on it. See you tomorrow?" She walked away from the booth and out of the cafeteria, leaving Thirteen to her thoughts.


	8. Say It

Cameron nursed her glass of rum and coke and looked around the pub. It was about half full now, with most of the people flocking to the silent auction tables, the two rescue dogs who were brought in to charm the people into donating, and of course, the bar. Despite her usual aversion for unorganized crowds, she still found it nice that quite a lot of the people she knew from the hospital were there, willingly paying a bit more for their Friday night drinks for a good cause. Or at least that was what she told herself to find joy in being there and to keep herself from thinking too much.

She took a quick glance at her phone that was inside her bag. Nothing. She glanced up and smiled at Wilson, who briefly made eye contact with her while he was talking to someone, his way of checking if she was ok. She was alone at their table, which normally wouldn't bother her, but Thirteen texted her thirty minutes ago that she'd get there in at least one hour, and it made her feel awfully aware that not only was she alone, but that she wanted Thirteen to be there with her.

Wilson walked back to their table and took a seat, a sigh escaping from his lips as he leaned back into his chair. "Sorry," he said, noticing that Cameron looked at him when he made the sound. "Listening to Murray talk about the recent additions to his antique collection makes me want to break House's cane in half and stick them into my ears. I knew I shouldn't have said it was interesting the first time he mentioned it."

She smiled at him, choosing not to say anything in response. She set her eyes down her glass and watched the ice cubes spin around as she stirred her drink. Of course, she understood that Thirteen was working and that she felt terrible about not being there with her, but the truth was it didn't make her any less bad about it. She didn't realize how much she looked forward to spending time with Thirteen at the event.

"I know the drinks aren't great, but they're not depressingly bad either. Are you ok?" Wilson asked. She looked up at him and smiled again, nodding slightly. "Yeah, sorry, still waiting for the rum to hit me, I guess." Wilson then scanned the room from right to left, his eyes eventually settling back at her. "Find anyone interesting?"

She knew Wilson wasn't talking about someone interesting for himself because he was dating his ex-wife, but she also refused to follow where he was heading. She craned her neck from one side of the room to the next, pretending to look for a person in particular. "Someone your type? None so far, sorry."

Wilson scoffed. "You know what I mean." He went silent and waited for Cameron to make eye contact with him before speaking again. "Have you gone out with anyone recently?"

Cameron furrowed her eyebrows. She suddenly remembered their conversation at the cafeteria the day before, and Thirteen telling her about how Wilson had been bugging her about her dating life. Maybe he does have a bet with House. "What's with the sudden interest in peoples' dating lives, Wilson? You've been on this since yesterday with Thirteen, and you've never asked me about my dating life before. Is this some scheme you're running with House?"

"No, I promise you it's not," Wilson exclaimed, gesturing rejection motions with his hands. He put his hands down and let out a huge breath, as if to calm himself down. "I don't know. It's just that things are going so well with Sam, I feel like... I don't know. I just want other people to be happy too." He shrugged and took a sip of his drink in defeat.

She wasn't so sure whether to believe him or not, but it did sound like him to think of other people like that. And besides, she always found him a terrible liar. She chuckled and tapped his arm lightly. "Wilson, it's fine. You're happy. That doesn't make it your responsibility to make everyone else happy too. Just enjoy it."

"I guess you're right," he answered. He took a final gulp of his drink, his face now with a hint of excitement when he set down his empty glass. "Did you talk to Thirteen about her and Robin though? I'm not going to pester her about it now of course, but I really think they'd hit it off."

"Uhh, we did, for a bit," she answered tentatively. The conversation had been in her mind since it happened, but for a different reason than what Wilson probably thought. "She said she really wasn't interested."

Wilson pouted slightly in disappointment. "Oh well, her loss." Cameron then noticed him glance at something across the room behind her and do a double take. "Speaking of the devil," he muttered.

She tried to stay as still as she possibly can to hide hint of a reaction. Is Thirteen here? She watched Wilson's face and waited for him to continue and give her some clue of who he was pertaining to. He was smiling now, his eyes following someone behind her. From the look of his face, whoever he was looking at was approaching their table.

"Hi, ladies," he finally said as Cat and Robin slowly appeared in Cameron's peripheral vision. "Hey!" both women greeted. They were both dressed up, and looked remarkably different from their usual appearance in the hospital. Cameron even noticed a few men nearby checking them out. "Mind if we share the table?" Cat asked, holding the chair beside Wilson.

"No, not at all," Wilson replied, pulling out the chair for Cat. She placed her bag on the chair and took a quick look at the small crowd standing around the bar. "Maybe we can get some drinks first?" she asked, turning to Robin who already took the seat beside Cameron.

"I can go with you," Wilson interrupted. He stood up and felt his back pocket for his wallet. "I was just about to get another drink anyway. Rum and coke?" he continued, pointing at Robin and Cameron. Both nodded in approval and watched them head off to navigate the bar crowd.

Robin turned back towards Cameron, who then had gone back to watching her now almost empty glass. She'd been curious to see how Cameron's mood would be since they left the hospital. She and Cat knew that Thirteen was still treating their patient because they saw her turning over consent papers for a new treatment when they were about to leave. She thought it was interesting to see Cameron looking quite down. "You guys have been here long? Did we miss anything good?"

The older doctor looked up at her and smiled. "Oh, not very long. And to be honest I'm not sure if there's anything to miss. What's going on now is what's been happening since we got here." They looked at the groups of people around them goofing around, some clearly already tipsy. Robin raised an eyebrow at Cameron and followed it with a playful smirk. "I hope Cat and Dr. Wilson come back soon with our drinks. I know a good drinking game we can play."

After about an hour, everyone at their table was several drinks in, and the three women were noisily cheering Wilson on as he tried to guess if Cat was indeed a Sagittarius. Guessing wrong meant another tequila shot as Robin's game rules imposed, and the oncologist was already clearly approaching drunk territory after guessing incorrectly three straight times prior.

"Ok, I think it's time we take a break from this game and get you a bit sobered up, Dr. Wilson," Cat said, standing up after watching Wilson finish his fourth straight shot. The area near the bar was full of people who'd set camp there, so she decided to go to convenience store beside the pub instead. She was standing on the sidewalk in front of the exit to check her phone first when she noticed a woman a few feet from her. The woman was also looking at her phone, although she seemed more like she was about to text someone and was thinking of what to say. When the woman raised her head and brushed her hair with her fingers, Cat realized who it was. She placed her phone back in her pocket and took a couple of steps closer. "She's at the table near the dartboards with Wilson, Dr. Hadley."

Thirteen turned, immediately recognizing Cat. "Oh hey! Nurse Cat, right?" she asked. She put her phone in her back pocket and walked closer to the ER nurse. Cat nodded in response. Thirteen took the hint that Cat was pertaining to Cameron with what she said, but she wasn't sure how much of what was going on Cat was privy to. "Who's near the dartboards?"

Right, Cat thought. She wasn't surprised, Thirteen was known for being private and quite evasive, after all. "Oh, sorry. I assumed you were looking for Dr. Cameron and Dr. Wilson. They're inside. Have to warn you though, Dr. Wilson is well on his way to getting hammered."

Thirteen smiled back. She felt that Cat knew of what was going on between her and Cameron at least to some degree. Cameron mentioned once that Cat was the one she was closest to in her team, although Thirteen also couldn't imagine that she'd told her everything. "Of course he is," she answered. "Thank you." The women separated ways, and Thirteen walked inside to look for Cameron.

"Look who's heeeere!" Wilson said loudly as Thirteen approached their table. He was off his seat, holding up an empty shot glass. Leave it to Wilson to get drunk at a charity event, the brunette thought. She turned to Cameron and immediately realized that she was probably a bit drunk as well, as evidenced by the slight redness on her cheeks. Cameron gave her a big smile as she took a seat and gently squeezed her shoulder. "You made it!", she said. Cameron's hand moved down to her arm and stayed there, which didn't go unnoticed. She felt an urge to take Cameron's hand and hold it but she resisted. _Not here. Not yet_.

"Sorry I'm late," Thirteen mouthed. She was totally distracted by the fact that Cameron's hand was on her arm but she knew she had to act casual about it. She glanced at Wilson to see if he noticed but he was distracted as well, his attention drawn to the lady on the stage at the other side of the room. "I tried to get here as soon as I can," she continued, leaning a bit closer to the blonde. Cameron looked straight into her eyes in a way that made her a bit nervous. "It's ok. You're here now."

Another hour passed and the crowd slowly dissipated in the pub. Cat and Robin had left, much to Cameron's relief. As tipsy as she was, she didn't miss the two women's subtle teasing about her and Thirteen throughout the night. She appreciated Thirteen trying to act clueless about it when Robin was jokingly (or maybe not so jokingly) flirting with her, and Cat sticking to knowing looks as her way of telling her she figured it out. She'll tell her about it soon, she thought. When she wasn't feeling like the room was spinning.

They were still at their table, watching over Wilson who was still occasionally taking sips of the water Cat gave him while lazily watching a couple of male nurses playing darts.

Cameron didn't feel as dizzy as she felt the hour before, thanks mainly to Thirteen making sure she stuck with water instead of liquor. She still did feel awfully warm, however, and she got a bit concerned that her appearance might not be at its best in front of a woman she was attracted to. "I need to go to the restroom real quick," she then said.

As she walked away, Thirteen contemplated on whether she should've offered to go with Cameron, considering that she didn't seem completely sobered up yet. She was about to stand up and follow when she noticed that Wilson was no longer watching the darts game and was looking at her instead.

"So when you meant you weren't interested," he started. "You just really meant you were already into someone else, right?" His eyes pointed at the direction of the rest room and then back at her.

Looks like he wasn't that drunk after all, Thirteen thought. She raised an eyebrow at him and an affirmative smirk. "Yeah, but, whether she's that someone is as into me or not is still up for debate, so don't start drafting up wedding plans just yet."

Wilson's face crumpled in confusion. "Are you kidding? You've been making googly-eyes at each other all night!" He placed his now empty water bottle down and further loosened the tie around his neck. "Don't play dumb with me, Hadley. I'm drunk, not blind."

Thirteen was about to respond when a woman passing by suddenly stopped in front of them. "What are you two still doing here?"

Wilson and Thirteen turned and saw Cuddy, with a look on her face that mirrored their own perplexed expression. She understood their confusion and sighed. "I'm sorry for not joining you guys earlier, I had to make sure everything was settled with the organizers," she explained. "I thought you'd all gone home, why are you still here?"

"We're waiting for Wilson to get sober enough to drive," Thirteen answered, giving Wilson the side eye. "He doesn't want to call Sam because he doesn't want her to see him this drunk and reeking of ladies' perfume, and I offered to drive him home but he won't budge because his apartment is out of way from mine."

Cuddy rolled her eyes at Wilson. "Was not getting this drunk not an option?" She sighed and motioned for him to come. "Your apartment is on the way to mine. I'll drive you home, come on. We'll pick up your car tomorrow." Wilson slowly stood up and followed Cuddy, leaving Thirteen alone at the table.

Cuddy and Wilson were almost at the exit when they bumped into Cameron as she was making her way back from the rest room. The hospital administrator took one look at her and knew that Cameron was too intoxicated to get behind the wheel as well. "You too?" she asked, both surprised and mildly annoyed. "Do you want get a ride home with us?"

"I think she already has a ride," Wilson answered before Cameron could say anything. He gave Cameron a knowing look before leading Cuddy into the exit. "Tell Thirteen to drive safe." Cameron walked back to the table and returned to her seat, still a bit confused. "I think Wilson knows."

Thirteen smirked. It had been a fun evening, listening to Cameron speak out her unfiltered thoughts throughout the night. She knew the blonde was never one to hold back when it came to serious matters, but her words also always seemed so polished and polite during more casual interactions. It was great to hear her become more candid and a tad bit reckless in a more social setting. "Wilson knows what, Cameron?"

Cameron froze. She didn't know how to answer the question. Not only because she was still feeling a bit drunk, but also because she didn't know what to call what they had. What's the word for this?

"Let's go?" she said instead, trying to stand back up again. Thirteen chuckled, shook her head lightly, and stood up as well while holding Cameron's bag. "No way you're driving like this. I'm taking you home."

Thirteen lowered the windows of her car during their drive, hoping that the fresh air would help Cameron feel a bit better. Cameron leaned at the car door and extended her arm out the window, trying to feel the cool breeze outside. Both women stayed silent for a while, with Thirteen occasionally glancing at the older doctor to see if she was ok.

"When you meet women at bars, how does that happen?" Cameron suddenly asked as she further settled herself on Thirteen's passenger seat, her eyes set at some place distant.

"What do you mean how?" Thirteen asked back. She glanced again to try and meet Cameron's eyes but the blonde was still looking out the window.

"Like, do they just come up to you and tell you that they want to sleep with you? Is that how it works?"

"No, well... Wait, why are you asking this?"

Cameron finally turned her head towards her, her looking a little more serious. "I just want to understand how it works."

Thirteen gave her a raised eyebrow and a smirk. "Is that how guys usually are with you?"

The blonde sighed with a hint of frustration and shifted her body towards the direction of the driver's seat. "Come on, Remy. Stop deflecting for once and explain it to me."

Thirteen realized it was the first time she heard Cameron call her her first name out loud. They've agreed to address each other by their first names before, but they've only mostly done it through text messages until then. It felt like a new step.

"Ok... I'd say a lot more goes on before it gets to the point where a woman tells another that she wants to sleep with them, even in a bar setting where everyone's motives is pretty much known. In the same way that men play off of their confidence when asking women out, I think some women play off of being mysterious and hard to catch."

"Sounds like someone I know," Cameron quipped, shifting in her seat again. Thirteen smiled at her briefly and went back to driving. They stayed silent in thought for a while, which made Thirteen think it was the end of her alcohol-induced interrogation, but she was wrong.

"What makes you want a person?" she asked again.

"Uhh, you mean like my type? I don't really think of specific things like that,"

"I don't believe that. You must have some idea of what you find attractive."

"I mean, of course I do," Thirteen answered, unable to help herself from humoring her drunk passenger again. She took the last turn towards Cameron's street and parked in front of her apartment building. "But it's not like a checklist of specific qualities that I have in the back of my head. It's more like an instinct where my gut tells me if I want the person or not," she continued as she turned off the engine.

"Isn't it strange to not have a clear idea of what you want?" Cameron asked. Thirteen reached for the blonde's coat and bag from the backseat and placed them on her own lap before opening her car door. "Don't get me wrong, I know what I want," she answered with a smirk before leaving her seat.

Thirteen walked Cameron to the entrance of her apartment building. She noticed the blonde slow down her pace and stop as they reach the door. Cameron looked up to her and took a step closer. "Does it include.. kissing me?"

Thirteen pursed her lips, and straightened her body a bit, her eyes set on Cameron's. _Not like this_.

"You're drunk."

A smile slowly formed on Cameron's lips, like she'd just been told a secret. "That's not a no."

The younger doctor reached in and tucked some strands of Cameron's hair behind her ear. "No, it's most definitely not. Good night, Cameron."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longest chapter to date! Feedback will be very much appreciated! ;)


	9. Dangerous

Cameron slowly stirred awake and raised her head slightly to check her clock. It was seven thirty. She felt herself for signs of a hangover -- no headache, no dizziness, and just a little thirsty. All good signs so far, she thought. At least she can be productive this morning. After several minutes, she finally got herself to sit up and check her phone. No requests from the hospital to come in -- another good sign since she'd been looking forward to her off day this week. She checked her other messages and saw one from Thirteen, sent at around 1AM: _Just got home, thought I'd let you know. Drink more water before you sleep, in case you're still awake. Less chances of a hangover. Good night._

She recalled what happened the night before. Some parts of it were blurry, especially the portion of the night when she was playing that drinking game with Wilson and the girls, but the ones with Thirteen were pretty clear. She asked Thirteen if she wanted to kiss her and she didn't say no, but didn't say yes and do it either.

While Cameron understood that it wasn't a rejection, she was also curious of what Thirteen thought and how she felt. _Did she think things were going too fast? Was she not convinced that I like her?_ She resigned to hoping that Thirteen would be more forthcoming in sharing her thoughts. The last thing she wants to do is to prod.

After taking a shower and getting dressed, Cameron headed to the kitchen to prepare her breakfast. She figured she’d make herself a nice one instead of her usual coffee and toast, to keep her full during the errand run she was already planning in her head. As she went through her kitchen cupboards, she realized she needed to make her grocery list for later. She was about to walk into her room to get her phone when she heard the doorbell ring. When she looked through the peekhole, Thirteen standing there, holding a couple of coffee cups and a white box.

“Hey,” she greeted as she opened the door. Thirteen smiled and raised the items she had with her. “Good morning,” she greeted back. “I brought breakfast.”

Cameron took the coffee cup holder from Thirteen and motioned for her to come in. “You came just in time, I was just about to make some.” The smell of cinnamon hit her as Thirteen walked past. “And it smells like what you brought is so much better than what I had planned.”

Thirteen walked over to the dining area and set the box down on the table. “Sorry for coming unannounced. I texted you I was on my way but you probably haven’t read it. I just didn’t want to give myself time to overthink it and turn back”

Cameron smiled and followed Thirteen at the table, brushing her hand across the brunette’s waist when she walked past. “It’s ok, I don’t mind.”

Both women sat down and started enjoying the donuts Thirteen brought. They were Cameron’s favorite — she mentioned it to the brunette in passing during one of their conversations the week before. She was impressed the younger woman remembered it.

“You haven’t asked what I’m doing here,” Thirteen commented.

“I just figured you’d tell me at some point,” Cameron answered, taking the last bite of the donut she was holding. “And besides, I like that you’re here.” She stood up to get some paper towels for them at the counter.

A smile grew on Thirteen’s face. “Well, I was hoping we can talk about what happened last night.”

It was Cameron’s turn to smile. In the back of her head she was a bit worried that Thirteen would resort to avoiding having a direct discussion about their relationship. Having her there and opening it up herself was a nice surprise. “Yeah, I was looking forward to that, too.”

When Cameron turned around towards the table, Thirteen was already standing up and facing her. The brunette was wringing her arms, looking a tad bit nervous. She cleared her throat, as if bracing herself for what she was about to do.

“I like you, Allison. And I hope that saying that now is practically just stating the obvious because I’ve really liked you for a while now. You’re one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever met, and I know you’re probably wondering why I didn’t kiss you last night.”

Cameron gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry about that,” she said softly.

“I wanted to,” Thirteen continued. “I really did. But I’ve kissed a lot of random drunk girls before, and the fact that they were drunk or I was drunk was always like a free pass to do it. And when I started having feelings for you I told myself that if we’d ever get to that point, I don’t want us to do it while drunk because I don’t just want a free pass. I want everything to be clear, and I want you to be sure.”

Cameron walked a couple of steps closer to her and cupped her face. “Remy, I’m sure,” she said. She pulled Thirteen towards herself and the brunette did the rest. Thirteen’s arms made their way around her waist as their lips met, slow and gentle. Thirteen’s kiss tasted like cinnamon, Cameron thought, and she slowly got lost in the motions as she felt the younger woman’s tongue brush against hers.

The women broke their kiss after a while, as softly as it started. Thirteen kept her arms around the blonde and pulled her in for a hug. Cameron pressed her head against Thirteen’s chest and got exhilarated by the scent of her perfume. She remembered it from the other times they spent time together, but she never imagined she can get to enjoy it up close.

“I’m glad you came,” Cameron murmured.

“Me too,” Thirteen answered. She slowly let go of their embrace and held Cameron’s hand, leading her to the couch where they sat back down face to face.

“I was afraid you'd be all hungover and grumpy when I got here, ” Thirteen said playfully, suddenly remembering last night’s events. “It looks like you manage your alcohol well though. Wilson was so hammered! Do you think he's awake now?”

Cameron chuckled, her fingers grazing along Thirteen’s palms. “For his sake, I hope not yet. The hangover from all those shots will kill him.” She then remembered Wilson’s comment right before he left the pub with Cuddy. “By the way, I think Wilson knows about us.”

“Yeah, he asked me about it,” Thirteen responded, watching Cameron play with their hands. “I think he realized why I refused to be set up with Robin.”

“Robin.. who I think also figured us out,” Cameron answered, her voice laced with worry. She knew Thirteen was quite private and might not be comfortable with a lot of people knowing her business. “And Cat, I think. At least based on the looks they were giving me last night."

Thirteen looked at her more closely. "Are you concerned that they know?"

"No, I'm not. After everything that's happened, I'm tired of worrying of what people think," Cameron replied. She raised her head and met Thirteen's gaze. "Are you worried?"

Thirteen took Cameron’s hand and intertwined their fingers. “No. I dated Foreman before and didn’t hide _that_ from anyone. I’d be nuts to hide dating you.”

Cameron looked at their hands and then back at the brunette’s eyes. This level of closeness was something she’d been yearning for but didn’t fully realize until now.

“You know what’s funny though,” Thirteen started again, a suspicious expression shown across her face. “At this point I've gotten linked with you three in varying degrees. I dated Foreman, and Chase tried to ask me out that one time. But out of all of you it was you that House warned me about.”

“Warned you? About me? Why?”

Thirteen chuckled lightly, the memory of House saying it playing in her mind. “He just said that you’re the type who gets people sucked into liking you through your touchy feely vibes.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Cameron exclaimed. “I don't act nice just to get people to like me.”

“Maybe you don’t mean it that way but that’s still how it works out,” Thirteen answered. “I've got to admit, I agreed with House when he said it. You’re beautiful, nice, and touchy. That’s dangerous.”

Cameron shot her a questioning smirk. “Riiiight. And you being hot and mysterious isn’t?”

“It is, but it’s worse with nice types like you because people never see it coming,” Thirteen explained, raising an eyebrow. “They just get pulled in by your nice, police, cute gravity and don’t realize they’re attracted until it’s too late.”

Cameron turned her back towards Thirteen and leaned back onto her. She then took the brunette’s arms and wrapped them around herself. “It sounds to me that House warning you didn’t do squat to avoid this now, did it?”


	10. Disclousure

It was almost noon when Thirteen arrived at the hospital. She and Cameron lost track of time and spent the morning cuddled up while talking on the couch. It surprised her how easy everything felt - touches felt warm and familiar, words didn't need to be chosen, and moments of silence brought comfort. If it were her choice they'd never leave the couch, but Cameron's words reassured her: _we'll see each other again soon._

She walked into the diagnostics room and found it dark and empty. _I guess they're still busy_ , she thought, pulling herself a chair. She was about to get her phone out when she noticed House walking in from his office.

"We solved the case. You missed it," he said. She looked at him intently, trying to get a read of his mood. But the only thing she got was that he was watching her just as much as she was watching him.

"I know," she answered. "I called Taub earlier, he said they can manage it. I'll just do the paperwork when they're done."

House nodded dismissively. Thirteen found his behavior strange; normally at this point House would already be grilling her about being late and making snide comments about her late-night activities. The fact that he hadn't made her wonder. Choosing silence as the safer route for now, she nodded back at House and rose from her seat. "I'll just go check on the guys."

She was already by the door when she heard House speak again. "I'd ask if you were with Cameron last night but that would be boring."

Thirteen turned around and saw House seemingly trying to hide a mischievous smile on his face. _Of course he knows._ She let go of the door and walked back towards him, letting him know she was ready for that conversation. If not asking was his way of asking, not answering can be hers, too. "Why would that be boring?"

House's smile became less subtle as she got closer. "Because spending a drunken Friday night with a hot chick wouldn't even make the news in your town," he answered. "You already have that kind of Friday night regularly. Saturday mornings on the other hand, are headline material. The morning after the drunken night is usually when you make your exit, to never be seen again. But you didn't do it this time, did you? You actually went to see her."

Thirteen stared back at him, trying to not show much of a reaction. House was right, what happened that morning was the opposite of what she often did with the women she'd been with. But it didn't cross her mind until she heard House say it. All she knew then was that she wanted to tell Cameron how she felt as soon as she could. She crossed her arms and slightly raised an eyebrow at him. "And that's... not boring?"

"Of course!" House quipped, setting down his cane on a nearby table. "As sad as it seems, you've actually managed to make watching you numbly go through woman after woman like you're bingeing a TV series boring!" He pulled out a Vicodin bottle from his blazer. "At least this one would be more fun to watch, because it counts!"

_Is he being... supportive?_ Thirteen knew better than to outright trust House's seemingly rational reaction, but then again, House had been different towards her after they met when they got out of jail. He still mocked her of course, but only on things related to the cases they had. He never messed with anything personal. She decided to take what he was saying at face value, at least for now.

"It's an honor to know my life is serving to be adequate entertainment for you, House" she answered. She turned around and headed back towards the door, but stopped before leaving. "Wait, how did you find out?"

House smirked. He always loved how he and Thirteen shared certain tendencies.

"You haven't been coming in hungover, and you've been wearing nicer perfume. At first I figured you had your scope set on one of the nurses but I noticed you've been subtly doing a double take whenever a blonde wearing ER scrubs walked by the diagnostics room the past weeks. A lot of blonde lookers in the ER team, of course, but we both know who's the top prize there. And _you_ have the caliber to bag top prize.

I also know the four of you went to that barbaric soiree last night and that Cuddy took Wilson home, so that leaves you two. Cameron's car is still parked on the same spot on the lot since yesterday, and I doubt she walked her way home so you likely drove her. She's not here today, which interestingly coincided with you also not being here for most of the day. You're wearing your own clothes and they're not the 'spare clothes in the locker' type which means you made it home at some point. But also you have some blonde hair on your jacket which tells me you were at her place before coming here."

House ended his explanation with a satisfied smile, and Thirteen felt that he was proud of having figured it out. As crazy as House gets, it always comforted her that there's someone who paid that much attention. It made her feel like he had her back, in a strange kind of way. She returned the smile before reaching for the door. "Right. Later, House."

* * *

Cameron was reading a text message from Thirteen about paperwork and clinic hours when Cuddy arrived. The brunette also told her that House knows about them which didn't surprise her, and also made her feel glad she invited the dean to late lunch.

"It's good to see you up and about," Cuddy greeted, sitting down on the chair across Cameron. "Wilson was barely coherent when he called earlier."

"I did get a bit drunk but not as much," Cameron answered. "By the way I already ordered some appetizers, if that's ok."

"That's fine," Cuddy answered. She took the menu on the table and began scanning through it. "I know we're friends beyond work but having lunch with your boss is definitely not among the things you do on an off day." She raised her head, her eyes barely visible above the menu page. "What are we here to talk about?"

Cameron paused from looking at the menu and looked up to smile at her boss. "I need to tell you something and I think it's better to do it now and in person."

Cuddy set the menu back down on the table, a worried look now on her face. "Are you leaving the hospital?"

"No," the blonde answered. A server arrived with their appetizers so she waited until he'd left. Cuddy just looked at her, nervously anticipating what she was about to say.

"I'm dating someone..."

Cuddy didn't move an inch. She knew there had to be a catch for Cameron to ask to meet her in such short notice.

"I'm dating someone from the hospital..."

The dean of medicine suddenly remembered Wilson's comment from the night before about who Cameron was driving home with and it suddenly clicked. Relief washed over her, realizing what the ER head was trying to say. "Let me guess... the long-haired brunette from diagnostics?" she asked with a teasing tone.

Cameron grinned. "You see why I had to tell you right away. Also we think House already knows."

Cuddy let out a huge breath upon hearing House's name mentioned. "Of course he does."

Both women started their meal, with Cuddy asking Cameron about how she and Thirteen started out. Cameron told her about their chance encounters in the hospital from the past weeks, which led to lunch, and them getting to know each other more.

"I'm very happy for the both of you," Cuddy answered upon hearing their story. "It's always better to take the chance than to wonder what could have been."

The comment made Cameron feel a little sad, knowing that Cuddy was pertaining to her failed relationship with House. She felt that the dean had reservations about her relationship with Thirteen, especially since the latter's inclination towards casual sex wasn't exactly a secret in the hospital. But she also knew that Cuddy wouldn't be the one to discourage her, as she'd also once taken a chance on someone people thought was incapable of keeping a good relationship.

"Remy is kind, brilliant, sweet, and she makes me happy," Cameron finally responded. "I mean, she's done questionable things, but who hasn't? I trust that her heart is in the right place, and that makes this worth a shot."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: This turned out to be like a filler chapter. Writing House/Thirteen interactions is such an indulgence, and is something I really enjoy doing. The second part was sort of an exploration of the Cuddy/Cameron dynamic. Will simmer over the idea a bit more if it's worth doing again. Let me know if you have thoughts.


End file.
